Waitresses&#39; money changing tray



Nov. 8, 1960 F. E. MOSS ET! AL WAITRESSES MONEY CHANGING TRAY Filed April 8. 1959 NAPKINS ETC.

IN V EN TORS.

FFZNK E. Moss ESTAL INjAMESyOJiIl United States Patent WAITRESSES MONEY @HANGING TRAY Frank Edward Moss, 402 E. Lime St., and Estaline A. Messori, 222 W. Cherry Ave., both of Monrovia, Calif.

Filed Apr. 8, 1959, Ser. No. 804,896

3 Claims. (Cl. 206-.81)

This invention relates to serving equipment and, more particularly, to a serving tray having means for making change.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a serving tray for use in commercial establishments, in which one end of the tray is provided with a coin and paper currency section for enabling the server to change money for the payment of food bills.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a tray of the above type which will enable the server to quickly and conveniently change various coin and paper currencies without having to carry a separate coin changer or utilize a pocket of a uniform or apron.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a money changing tray bearing the above objects in mind which is of simple construction, has a minimum number of parts, is inexpensive to manufacture and efiicient in operation.

For other objects and for a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view, partly in section, of a money changing tray made in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of certain parts of the tray assembly shown in Figure 1 with the parts in a closed position; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse cross sectional View taken along line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing, a money changing tray made in accordance with the present invention is shown to include a main tray 12 which may be constructed of any desired material, such as molded plastic. A main body portion 15 is secured within one end of the tray 12 by means of brackets 22 that overlie and engage the upper peripheral beaded edge 24 of the tray. The main body portion 15 includes a plurality of laterally spaced apart and longitudinally extending grooves 14 of diiferent sizes, each of which is adapted to accommodate a quantity of coins 16 of difierent denominations. The outermost end of each such groove 14 is curved so as to facilitate the removal of the coins therefrom.

Ordinarily, the coin receiving compartments 14 are closed by a closure 18 that is pivotally mounted upon the 2,959,274 Patented Nov. 8, 1960 main mounting block 15 by means of hinges 20. This closure member 18 has cutouts 20 at each end for receiving the brackets 22 therewithin when the closure is in the closed position. The top of the closure 18 includes a shallow compartment 30 Within which paper currency 32 may be stacked. A cover 26 pivotally mounted upon the closure 15 by means of hinges 28, is selectively movable between an open and closed position so as to safely retain the paper currency therewithin. A clip 34 is secured, such as by rivets 36, to the cover 26 for slideably receiving paper napkins, checks, and the like 38 therebeneath.

The operation and use of this device will be readily understood. The server may store any desired amount of coins 16 and currency 32 within the compartments 14, 30 respectively, each of which is readily accessible simply by pivoting the cover 26 and closure 18 upwardly, as may be required. Of course, all of the component parts may be readily constructed of any desired material, such as molded plastic material.

Therefore, while various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What we claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a serving tray having a money changer comprising, in combination, a main body portion, mounting means securing said main body portion upon one end of the tray, coin compartments in said main body portion, a closure for said coin compartments, and a bill compartment in said closure, and a cover for said bill compartment carried by said closure, said main body portion comprising a block extending transversely between the opposite sides of said one end of said tray, a plurality of laterally spaced apart and longitudinally extending shallow grooves accommodating a plurality of coins of different denominations therewithin, said mounting means comprising a pair of brackets, each one of said brackets being secured to each opposite end of said mounting block, and said brackets frictionally engaging adjacent marginal portions of said tray.

2. The combination according to claim 1, wherein said closure comprises a panel rigidly connected to said main body portion, and the undersurface of said panel having cutouts receiving said brackets therewithin when said closure is in a closed position overlying said main body portion.

3. The combination according to claim 2, wherein said bill compartment comprises a shallow tray formed in said closure, and a hinge pivotally mounting said cover upon said closure in overlying relationship with said bill compartment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,051,131 Crow Aug. 18, 1936 2,547,512 Whitcomb Apr. 3, 1951 2,733,541 Mosler Feb. 21, 1956 

